Outside of city limits, back in a striving neighbourhood, quiet, and up to standards to the rest of the country instead of the decomposing abandoned homes the state of Michigan’s known for; Jack and Anna were back at her grandparents house, and he’s sitting inside the living room couch. Currently, the young man is sitting in silence, waiting for Anna’s next move.

Jack raised his hand and stared at his palm, “Anna, heh… you haven’t changed, haven’t you, my dear friend.”

During their walk back to her new home, the two stayed dead quiet throughout the walk, but they did one thing that expressed their permanent bond, and that was hold hands the entire time. At first, Jack couldn’t believe it was her, he wasn’t too sure if this was all just a dream or reality when he walked beside her. In the middle of the walk the young man punched himself, surprising her and making her panic. It was a dumb but funny moment for the two and it was more than enough for Jack to realise it was real. Although Jack couldn't help but pinch himself as hard as he could to once again check if this is reality.

Jack looked around, the environment itself was all too familiar to him. “Nothing’s changed since the last time I came here when I was nine years old.”

Jack closed his hand and lowered it to his knee, sighing. Her grandparents weren’t home, but he wasn’t sure how’d they react seeing their lovely granddaughter bring home some strange dangerous looking guy to their loving home. Wanting to feel the past with his hand, Jack reached his arm out to pick one of the photos set on the coffee table and stared at it. He smiled upon first glance. It’s a photo of his family and theirs when they were young.

“Mom… Dad, boy do I miss the two of you.” Jack could feel his eyes swell and feel the urge to cry.

Seeing his parents again with smiles on their faces reminded him all over again how much he dearly missed them. Jack brushes his hand over his hair and gently sets the photo down. He wiped his face and erased his emotions. Jack then heard footsteps coming to him and looked forward, seeing Anna coming back with a set of coffee on a tray.

Anna was still nervous as she walked back to show, the tray making all types of sounds from her shaking. Anna nervously sets it on the table, still feeling the shock of her old dear friend that everyone presumed was dead to now still be alive. Jack watched as his best friend combatted her emotions, nervously setting everything up and trying her best to not stare at him.

Anna did look but only to ask him something while her head rattled with nervousness, “Co-Coffee?”

Jack grins and nods, “Yeah… that’ll be great, Annabelle.”

Anna’s eyes went erratic, blinking rapidly and nodding to his reply. She started pouring with a coffee pourer, but poor Anna couldn’t keep the cup still and spilled some coffee.

Anna got frustrated and gripped her hair, groaning. “Damn it! Oh-Oh… Oh no-no! I’m-Im—sorry! Shit…”

Anna looked like she was about to cry as she quickly rushed to grab a rag to clean up the mess, but Jack hurried up to stop her, grabbing her arm. Anna paused, hung her head and gasped quietly. She turned around, and Jack reeled her close towards him so they could look into each other's eyes in silence. Jack gently pats her head, Anna grabbed his wrist and lowered it off her, and both naturally bump heads gently. Anna smiles with her eyes filling up with water again as Jack wrapped an arm around her waist.

Jack raises both hands and sets their roughness on her cheeks. “My dear friend Anna, you’re still the klutz that I remember…” said Jack quietly.

Anna continues smiling as she grabs his hands that were set on her cheeks. “Ye-Yeah…” Her smile faded and a frown appeared. “I-I thought… we thought—” She couldn’t help but cry more and clench his hands.

Jack lowered both their hands and held hers, staring into those green oceans waterfalling down her face. Jack wiped her eyes and sweeped Anna off her feet, surprising her and quickly seating the two on the couch as he placed her down on his lap.

Jack bumped her head and whispered to his best friend. “It’s okay, I know it’s difficult to take in, you’re not the only one who’s shocked.”

Anna leans against Jack’s chest and clutches his shirt and whispers too. “I can’t believe you’re alive. It’s so hard to believe, that means…” Anna’s smile came back but coated in softness. “...My gut was right all along.”

Anna’s eyes quivered in happiness. She wiped them and closed them to embrace the moment. Jack rubs her arm and rests against her head. Nobody was enjoying this just as much as he did. He’s indulging this moment the best way he could possibly express it with his new attitude and imprinting it into his cluttered mind.

“You have no idea… how much I’ve missed you. Huh, this day couldn’t have gotten any better for me.” Jack smiles, and lets out a soft sigh.

Anna opened her eyes again, “We thought you were dead, they told us you were killed in a fire? What happened?”

Hearing that same lie again made Jack squint his eyes in anger and ripped the smile off his face.

“No, that’s not it. They lied to you, all of you, and made you believe that was the case—but that couldn’t be farther from the truth, Anna.”

Anna clutches his shirt with slight anger, but doesn't show it on her face. “Bastards… How could they? But if that’s the case, then where have you been all these years then?”

Jack maoned, “Isolation, madness, and out to the damned streets of Flint at its coldest winter? And ever since then, I’ve lived and almost died for it. Heh, the street life isn’t so bad once you get used to it, you know?”

Anna clinged on harder, letting out more sadness onto Jack’s chest. “Jack, I’m-I’m—”

“Sh, it’s okay to feel bad but don’t pity me, please. I made the decision to live this way, I had no other choice. When it comes to that life, you have to do anything to survive, even if it means you have to let go of the person you used to be.”

Anna couldn’t help but feel bad for him. Just his dead voice alone was enough to back his story, sounding monotone and lifeless. When she let off momentarily to look into his eyes again to see any signs of a twinkle, glint of life, they’re just as cold and brittle as Detroit's winters.

“How much have you suffered?” muttered Anna.

Jack quietly pats her head and looks out her window, “I’ve suffered enough… more than enough.”

Anna stared at Jack as he gazed at her window. “Jack…” She rests her head again and the two continue to embrace the moment as the sun finally sets down.

Night has dawned, both childhood best friends didn’t do much other than share their heat and bask in their reunion in silence. Eventually Anna fell asleep on Jack’s lap and the young man was currently quietly reflecting on what his future will be from now on being reunited with Anna. His past liked to barge into his thoughts to remind of his mistakes while he ruffled Anna’s silky hair in reflection. Anna slept peacefully and Jack caressed her cheek in silence as he still gazed out the window until he heard her front door open.

Stepping into their home, and looking at the door opening wide, he realised It’s her grandparents who finally returned home.

Hmm, it’s been awhile. I wonder how they’ll react to me now after all these—nevermind, it's been far too long for them to even recognize me at this point. Jack thought.

They took off their coats, hanging it up on their coat rack near the door, her grandfather closed the door behind them. Her grandmother’s the first to look forward to the living room and spotted Jack on the couch with their granddaughter resting against his chest, her eyes still puffy from all the crying she did.

She raised her old fragile finger as it trembled at Jack’s direction. “Uh, sweetheart, there’s someone on our couch with our beloved granddaughter on their lap…”

Her grandfather immediately stepped forward in front of his wife, reaching behind his pants. “Who—? Wait a minute!” He had a firearm hidden in concealment and gripped the handle. “Who are you?! And I thought she was gay!”

They were confused and afraid. Her grandmother clinged onto her husband and he was ready to pull out his gun and aim it at the young man. Jack kept his straight face but brought out a soft smile to relieve their rising suspicion and tension.

“It’s a bit complicated, and a long story, but for now, long time no see.” Jack raised his hand, weakly waving.

Her grandfather was still sceptical and grit his teeth. “Okay? And who are you, exactly?”

Her grandmother knitted her brows and raised her fist at Jack, “You speak like we’ve met before, scary looking man! Now spill who you are!”

Jack sighed and held Anna, getting up on his feet with her in his arms. “I do because… I’m Jack, Jack Samr, Anna’s old childhood best friend.”

Once Jack revealed his name, the two were absolutely speechless. Both of her grandparents stayed there in a state of shock, trying to comprehend what he just said. Her grandfather gripped his gun harder and her grandmother felt confused. While the two were processing what was revealed, Jack, meanwhile, was carrying Anna back to her room. Luckily he still remembered it and went down the hallway, finding it and going inside her room so he could tuck her into bed. Jack gently placed her on her bed, tucking her in properly and patting her head one last time.

Her grandparents snapped out of their frozen state, quickly followed Jack, and went inside her room too, watching him tuck their granddaughter to bed. Jack heard them come in and felt their gaze once he finished tucking her in.

“I know you all must be confused about how I’m here?” Jack looked over his shoulder to her grandparents. “But I’m not an imposter nor a savage seeking to do devious acts to your granddaughter. It’s really me, Jack Samr…”

The two elders looked at each other and were still baffled over it. Adequately, their hearts were telling them that he was in fact, telling the truth. Her grandfather scratched the back of his head, feeling conflicted and her grandmother gripped her chin, analysing Jack’s features to see if there were similarities between the two. If anyone knew Jack well it would be her grandmother who took care of him along with Anna on playdates when they were younger.

“Lets see, I’m going to approach you, Jack,” said her grandmother.

She walked up to the young man while her husband stayed on guard. Jack looked fearless, confident, but inside, he was a nervous wreck. He remained cool but quickly, his nervousness showed by a single drop of sweat that came out his head down his face. Her grandmother saw and stopped, looking at Jack head to toe and analysing everything about him.

“Come here, give me your hand.” She stretched out her nimble old hand to Jack and he obliged, grabbing its soft nature. “Hmm, I’m not quite so sure.”

Jack moaned softly, worried, and her grandmother stared deep into Jack’s dead fish eyes. Jack felt nervous and expressed it, blinking hard and diverting his attention away. Her grandmother nodded and let go. Her grandfather’s eager to pull his weapon out and use it in a threatening manner. But then, her grandmother hugged the young man, surprising him and without his awareness, reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet.

Jack blinked rapidly and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Dang, ca-caught me off guard there.”

Her grandmother grinned and opened it, seeing the tip of a photo tucked away. “Let's see now…” She pulled the photo out and saw it was a photo of him and his dearest sister. “You have a sister, I presume? Because the Jack we know was a single child.”

Jack frowned and clenched a fist. “It-It’s complicated, but turn it over.”

Her grandmother did and saw another photo glued to the back, one with the Jack she knew and all of his friends, including her granddaughter. It made her gasp and hold the photo towards her chest, whimpering. Her grandfather quickly came to his wife's side to comfort her. He rubbed her back and her grandmother handed the photo to her husband so he could see for himself. He grabbed the picture and also gasped, looking at Jack in sadness.

“You are him! My God, I-I don’t—!”

“Believe it?” said Jack, “Yeah, hard to believe, right?”

Anna’s grandmother grabbed Jack’s hands and smiled. “I’m sorry for being so sceptical, but when I looked into your eyes, I saw your mother. You guys have the same eyes, and luckily your father’s height, hehe!”

Jack’s eyes quivered upon hearing her comparison to his mom. “You-You really… think so?”

“Yes, my sweet, though the light that used to shine within them is gone, there’s no denying it. You are their child and Anna's beloved friend.”

Jack’s eyes swelled up and he quickly shut them, fighting the sorrow that wanted to spill out. Anna’s grandfather patted Jack’s shoulder to tell him that everythings alright without saying a word. Jack reopened his dimmed headlights and glimpsed at the two, hanging his head down.

Her grandfather still felt optimistic, grabbing his chin and looking closer. “Are you really Jack though? I don’t know, you look like some deranged looking—” Her grandmother gripped his love handle and twisted. “Ahahaha, I mean yes, Jack my boy! Ahem, there's no denying it, hmmm, yeah it is you the more I look into your eyes. Those eyes once filled with shine are as dim as a fire now! You’ve suffered tremendously, haven’t you?”

Jack couldn't help but briefly chuckle at his sarcasm, remembering well just how much of a jokester he was and still is. But he was also surprised that they noticed how broken he is just from his eyes alone.

“You guys are good, no wonder she always trusted you two.” Jack looked back at Anna who’s still asleep. “During my coldest, brutal, loneliest days, there wasn’t a time amongst them that I didn’t think about her, she-she’s my best friend.”

“And that’s why we wanted you to marry her! You’d be perfect for her!” said her grandmother while caressing his rough hands.

Her grandfather sighs and brings out a smile, feeling convinced enough Jack’s in a better mood. “Ha ha! That’s right my boy, why don’t you spend the night here?”

Jack liked their welcoming joy, their auroma of friendliness, it reminded him of the old times when his parents would bring him here to play with Anna when their parents would have horrible fights. Those times were the ones he embedded into his mind the most, and the ones in which their bond grew the grandest.

“No, I couldn’t, I don’t want to be a bother.” replied Jack.

They both insisted and invited him to dinner too. Jack smiled, feeling loved once again, but from a past where happiness was always present. Never would Jack think he’d ever be treated this nicely, and with such affection and love. He felt like his old self again. Jack humbly accepted their offer and followed them back to their dining room while her grandmother held his hand too to go there to comfort the young man's damned soul.

All three were eating dinner, one made by Anna’s grandmother. It was a grand meal of mashed potatoes, grilled fish, and steamed vegetables. Jack doesn’t remember the last time he had such a warm and loving home cooked meal like this, it felt so unreal to him. He ate the wonderful dinner, her grandparents watched as he devoured the food like a homeless puppy. The three conversed, shared laughs, and Jack told them how treacherous and horrifying the street life was to him during their meal. During their conversation, Anna’s grandmother wanted to know more about street life, even going as far as asking the really personal questions.

“Jack my boy, in the amount of time you’ve spent on the streets, have you ever witnessed death?” asked her grandmother while taking a bite of fish.

Jack drank his cup of water and paused for a moment before answering her question. The young man nods and takes another bite of food before looking at the two.

“The amount of people I’ve seen killed, the consequences of drug addiction that lead to their demise, petty arguments escalating to a murder, and the amount of friends I’ve lost along the way; It’s enough for anyone to feel discouraged and throw their life away too.” said Jack.

“What do you mean by that, Jack?” asked Anna’s grandfather.

Jack stopped eating and took off his coat, showing the scars on his arms and pointing at the one to his face. “Because I already have, and these are the consequences of my actions.”

They were left so speechless and stunned that they couldn’t help but cry, feeling awful how much he’s suffered.

“When you live such a life you’ll get used to it after a while. Especially for someone that you care for so dearly.”

That broke them even more, enough to jump out of their seats and hug poor Jack who’s casually still eating his food.

Jack didn’t want to say anymore, especially the fact that he’s a cold bloodied wanted murderer that’s been on the run for years. It’ll devastate them if they found out about this side of him. So the young man kept his mouth shut about anything else about the ruthless lifestyle not only he chose, but still continues to live by. After a wonderful discussion and Jack giving them some more light hearted backstory about his struggle, all three, after cleaning up their dinner, walked together out the dining room. The three walked and stopped when they reached Anna’s room. Her grandparents wanted to tell Jack some last minute words before going to bed.

“Well Jack, sleep well tonight, take advantage of it because I can tell your body needs the most it needs and this is perfect for you.” said Anna’s grandmother.

Her grandfather walked up to Jack patting his shoulder, “Yeah, and uh, try convincing our granddaughter about—”

Then her grandmother came in, twisting his love handle to stop him from saying anything personal about their granddaughter. “That’s enough out of you, honey.”

“Gwah! Okay okay, let go please.”

Jack chuckled, “You two remind me of us when we were little, thank you, for everything.”

Her grandmother smiled, “No Jack, thank you for coming back into Anna’s life, she needs it, truly.”

Her grandfather steps back, placing his hand on his wife's shoulder. “You have no clue what type of mental trauma your supposed death had on poor Anna. Poor girl, not to mention—hmm, ah, nevermind, goodnight Jack.”

Jack nods, and raises a hand. “Don’t worry, I don’t deserve praise, goodnight you two.” Both grandparents waved and walked to their rooms down the hall and Jack walked back into Anna’s room.

Going inside, Jack decided to sit on her rocking chair at the corner of her room to sleep on it. Walking to it, Jack spots photos of her and himself when he glances at her top dresser.

Jack grabs one photo and chuckles briefly, but frowns afterwards. Anna… how much mental trauma did you go through if what your grandmother said is true…

Unexpectedly, Anna’s grandmother came back in, she had one last thing to ask of Jack. She walked beside the young man who kept his eyes on the photo, but he knew she was coming from her soft footsteps.

“Hey Jacky boy, the little girl in the first picture, who is she? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Jack looked at her grandmother and his eyes told her that he was in emotional pain. “She’s-She’s my self adopted sister… a girl I met when I was isolated from society.”

“What do you mean, isolated? Is there more that we don’t know about you?”

Jack nods, “Yeah, but I’d rather not talk about that part of my past. It’s too much, but please, don’t tell Anna about her.”

Her grandmother looked at a photo of all three girls, “You’d rather tell everyone yourself, huh?”

“Y-Yeah… once I do, I’ll reveal almost everything, but there’s still some things that I’m not ready to tell them.”

Anna’s grandmother understood and patted Jack’s arm, “Very well, goodnight Jack—and, welcome back.” She walks off and is out of the room.

Jack looked at Anna sleeping soundly and grins, “Yeah, someday, I’ll tell you about Angela.”

Jack sets the photo down and stretches, yawning as softly as possible so he wouldn’t wake up sleeping beauty.

“Well, time to sleep good for once, huh Jack?”

Before going to sleep, Jack’s attention was caught again by another photo, this time of all the girls together along with him.

Jack picks it up, and as he looks at each individual girl, he comes to realise something shocking. The last girl, having black hair, pale skin, and rare eyes of crimson; there’s only one person he knew that had those features and the girl in the park the other day having the same characteristics made Jack’s eyes explode. And when he did bring his memories together to put the pieces of this puzzle together, he remembered her name.

Oh shit! Jack thought.

Jack stared at that girl, his eyes widened in shocked confusion. “The girl at the park was—Sarah?" He began laughing quietly at his own stupidity. "Holy fuck. I can't believe I bumped into Sarah without noticing… I should’ve known it was her. I mean, no one else has red eyes in our city besides her. I’m so stupid, but wow, who would’ve thought."

Jack sets the photo back down and crosses his arms, walking to the chair, and taking a seat on the pillow cushion it had.

It's been awhile so of course I'd forget.

Jack yawns once more and slowly shuts his eyes, but wants to laugh himself into silent death. After doing so, the young man fell into a warm, relaxed, comforting, deep sleep with a grin on his face. For once, Jack can finally sleep peacefully after all these years. For him to reunite with his childhood best friend was the icing to this moulding cake, to give it some colour and life, relieving it with deliciousness. After all these long depressing, painful years, it was well worth the reunion and moment for Jack to get a deserving sleep without hearing a single gunshot, domestic violence, or sirens at that.

The following morning arrives and Anna wakes up, stretching out her arms, scratching her back and rubbing her eyes. The girl's eyes were half shut and she licked her lips, feeling zombie-like. She wondered if she overslept for too long and questioned if the events of yesterday were just a dream.

Anna sits up and glances around her room with her vision still hazy, “Maybe it was all just a dream, heh, should’ve known.” Anna chuckled and let out a sigh.

Jack’s still in the chair and had woken up earlier since he’s an early bird type of person. The young man’s been waiting for her to wake up for an hour now. Yet hearing her say a statement he’s always said to himself repeatedly in the past, brought out a grin on his face.

Jack turns on the lamp light next to the chair he slept in last night, “Nah, it was all real.” said Jack in a relaxed deep morning tone. “Good morning, sleeping beauty.”

At first Anna’s still thinking she’s dreaming, rubbing her eyes again. To convince her, Jack stood up, approached her bed to then sit on the edge. She stayed silent, and Jack only stared at her, but then he crept close to her, raising a finger to her. Anna’s anticipating whatever he’ll do next with growing eyes and wondered if this was a dream of lust. Jack stopped his finger at her head, both stayed quiet and he flung his finger on her forehead, making her yelp.

Anna rubbed her forehead and Jack grinned, “See, it’s still all real. Believe me now?”

Anna’s eyes glistened and she immediately jumped onto Jack with excitement, and both best friends fell flat on the bed. She rubbed her face against his and Jack chuckled.

“Then yesterday was all real! Yeah!” said Anna while cheek raping Jack.

Jack didn’t mind and held her, “Yeah silly… now could you please let me up?” said Jack without that hint of deadness in his voice for once.

Anna sat on top of him and grabbed his arms, spreading them out, holding him down on her bed. “I don’t think so!” She had a huge smile on her face, “I’ll never let you leave my side again, no not this time nor ever!” She timbers down onto Jack and rubs her face against his again.

Jack felt annoyed and forced her off of him, psuhing her aside, “You ever heard of personal space? Jesus, you’re wild…”

Anna abruptly sat up and threw one of her pillows at him, “Of course I do, but this is the start of your torture my friend!”

“Oh yeah?”

Anna grew a smug smile, “Oh—yeah!”

Jack nods with a frown, shrugged, and rushed Anna, picking her up off the bed. Anna screamed but quickly giggled afterwards. Jack had her in his arms and looked into her eyes with malice.

“I’m not letting you down until you stop your foolishness!”

Anna wasn’t intimidated by those cold eyes, instead she grew more smuggish, “Hehe, I don’t mind! Now, carry me to the dining room, will you, sweetheart?”

Jack smiled mildy and smacked his lips. “There’s no breaking you. Whatever you say, weirdo.”

The two chuckled as Jack carried her into the dinning room where her grandparents were currently sitting and eating their morning breakfast.

Her grandfather was the first to spot the two and grew a smug grin, “Ahh! There ya are! I thought you two would miss breakfast.” said Anna’s grandfather who took a sip of his coffee, raising his brows. “I see that you two are finally getting comfortable with each other, huh?” He was bouncing his eyebrows and snickered.

Anna sighs and Jack sets her down. “Oh granddad, you’re so funny!” said Anna, sarcastically.

Anna takes a seat next to her grandfather and Jack stands there lost. Both grandparents were eyeing Jack, looking smuggish. Anna caught on their perverted mindsets and snapped her fingers at them. The two grandparents glimpsed at each other, winked and went back to eating.

Anna rolled her eyes and tapped the chair seat next to her, “Come one Jack, sit next to me.”

Jack obliges and sits next to Anna, “Okay, time to eat well again. Oh, how are you guys doing this morning?”

Her grandmother smiled and couldn’t contain her hidden agenda, “Oh I can’t wait till the two of you finally decide to tie the knot!”

Anna clears her throat and sips on her coffee, “Stop making silly assumptions, grandma.”

Jack, who’s completely oblivious, began eating. “Your cooking is great as I always remembered. Like last night's dinner! Man, it’s been awhile since I’ve had a nice dinner and breakfast that was homemade.”

Jack munched onto this delicious breakfast of baked ham, eggs, and oatmeal. Anna held up her fork that had a piece of bacon, yet the girl couldn’t resist but watch her best friend devour her grandmother's cooking. She set the fork down and instead, watched Jack eat, smiling in amusement.

“It’s going to be such a wonderful wedding between you two. Good thing Jack’s my height, don’t want any shorties running around our gene pool.” said Anna’s grandfather who bit his toast.

Anna frowned towards her grandfather and cleared her throat loudly, “Wow, you just can’t keep it to yourself huh, grandad? Sheesh, funny as ever I say.”

Jack looked at the two and felt Anna’s annoyance, “Whatcha guys referring to?”

Anna giggled knowing the fact that Jack’s still as dense as ever, “Oh nothing. Hey, why don’t we celebrate later Jack! What do you say?!”

Anna can’t contain herself and leans in close as Jack’s munching on his food.

Jack swallows, burping afterward, “Sure, I think I’m free? Wait, am I?”

“Well if you two are going to celebrate then we’ll stay out of your way… hopefully this means you guys will do the yum yum!”

Her grandfather nodded. Her grandmother grabbed her husband and put him in a headlock and laughed, then he did as well. Both elders weren’t laughing at them but were happy that someone like Jack came back into their granddaughter's life. A person who looks like Jack is enough to convince any parents or guardians that he’ll be a perfect candidate for a husband and protector of their future family.

“Yeah, hurry up you two and give me great grandchildren!” said Anna’s grandmother.

Anna groans in frustration and covers her face with just one hand. “You guys really know how to make things awkward.”

She sets her head down for a second and looks at Jack who seemed lost.

Jack’s eyes were half shut, he sipped his glass of water and moved his mouth, “Great grandchildren? Yum yum? Tie the knot? What’s all this mean? I'm so confused…”

Everyone glares at Jack with hopeless expressions on their faces. Anna’s grandmother adjusted her glasses, coughing, her grandfather softly wheezed, slapping his thigh in amusement, and Anna rolled her eyes with a smile.

Jack looked at everyone with food in his mouth now, “What?”

They all looked at each other and laughed as Jack’s left confused on what this whole conversation was about. After breakfast, Anna and Jack decided to go back into her room. She needed to change her clothes and commanded Jack to not move a muscle, he sighs and waits for her to change as he sat down on her bed. She walked into her big closet, went inside and started undressing.

As she’s half way undressed, she quickly realises the situation, “Huh, I just realised that I’m undressing with a boy casually waiting for me on my bed. Heh, context, but…”

She looked over the half open closet door and saw Jack staring off into space.

“Usually a boy like him at his age should be curious about his female friend changing. Most would take the opportunity to take a peak, especially with my physique.”

She stuck her head out her closet and Jack’s not paying any sort of attention to her. She cleared her throat to see if that would bring a reaction out of him. Nothing, not even a glimpse. In a regular circumstance like this, most men or boys would crave this type of scenario. It’s normal, but would answer a lot of women’s questions and motives about their supposed male friend. Luckily, in Anna’s case she’s dealing with someone who either doesn’t care or is still the dense fool she once knew. She felt relieved and returned to undressing.

“He’s still the dense boy we all know hehe.”

To Anna, this is a confirmation that not only is he still the same as before in terms of his density, but also made her feel more safe around him. Unfortunately, her own curiosity and insecurity as a young woman blasted into her mind, questioning herself and her body.

Wait, but I’m eighteen now so my body is much more grown than ever. I mean, my boobs are big! My butt’s great, but not on par to Sarah’s, she’s got the Goddess of a butt and has me outmatched.

Anna glanced down at them as she’s about to unbutton her bra.

Hmm, does he not find me—?

Anna thought about her attraction towards Jack once again and didn’t feel her heart skip a beat nor butterflies in her stomach. This confirmed that she had no romantic feelings towards him, just like when they were kids the last time they were together.

Oh well, whatever, Jack’s Jack, he’ll never do anything perverted anyways or attack me in any sort of way.

After removing her bra, she removed her pants and was curious about what he was thinking again. But her own auroma stopped her from peeking at him again. Anna smelled herself and was slammed with yesterday's stench. She needed a shower. She got a towel hanging behind her closet door, wrapped it around her and walked out. Curiosity killed the cat for Anna once again and thought of something devious to test Jack’s manhood.

Hmm, I still wonder if he’s still; Jack? Yeah, let's test him. Anna thought.

Anna walked past Jack to test his curiosity of seeing a potential naked woman like her who made boys drool and dreamt of being with her. Despite doing it, he’s still staring off into nothing, lost in a trance of some sort. Anna grabbed her chin and thinked, and had an idea. She wanted to break his trance for the sake of it.

Anna stepped in front of Jack, “Hey Jack?”

Jack blinked and looked at her, briefly being jumped, “Woah, why are you in a towel now?”

Anna smirked, “Curious, are you?”

Jack scanned Anna, “Actually—yeah.” answered Jack as he shrugged.

Anna raised a brow and coughed, “Damn, just like that?”

“Yeah, but who’s the one being sneaky by purposely testing my manhood, huh?”

Anna chuckled, “Whatever, you got me. Anyways have you showered?”

Jack lifts an arm and sniffs, “Fuck, sorry. It’s been a couple of days to be honest.”

With her hands on her hips now, Anna hunches forward and points to her bathroom, “Nasty boy, you go and march yourself first into that shower and bathe yourself first.”

A wondrous view of her full cleavage was exposed to Jack. Jack twitched an eye, briefly catching sight of a nipple and looked away and shrugged. Anna noticed his deflected eyesight and was surprised he wasn’t blushing, nervous, rather it made her giggle. Anna also questioned herself why she didn’t react either in embarrassment in a cliched instance like this or blush too.

But Jack got curious again and did peek briefly, catching a full view of everything without reacting. “Eh, you’re already undressed, pervert. You go first, your house right?”

Anna pouts and poked his cheek where he had a scar on, “Now Jack, don’t name call me. Just do as I command!”

Jack sighed and obliged, standing up, “Fine fine, let me just—”

She didn’t let Jack finish making up an excuse, instead she took action, immediately grabbing his shirt and taking it off. “You better not fight back or else I’ll—”

When she removed his shirt all the way, Anna was stunned, dropping his shirt. What her eyes had laid upon made the girl cover her mouth in horror. Never before has Anna seen this many scars on someone's body, and proved to not only to her, but to her grandparents who got a brief tell into Jack’s past, truly showed just how much Jack had suffered in the years of their separation.

“Jack… Wha-What happened to you?” said Anna, her eyes starting to quiver.

Jack glimpsed at all his upper body, wondering what’s leaving her feeling shocked until he saw all the damages he’s taken throughout the years. At first he didn’t think twice about it and gave Anna a confused look, wondering why it was such a bother to her. Then it clicked like an empty gun, bringing a sense of morality back into his mind. To Jack these scars were nothing more than reminders of his mistakes, nothing more than that, actually, the young man indulges them. So he wouldn’t repeat the same mistake again and be damaged in the same way.

But seeing his friend in horror over it made Jack scratch his head and pat her shoulder. “Oh, don’t mind these. They’re just a reminder of my mistakes, that's all.”

His answer made Anna hang her head and go quiet. Jack wasn’t so sure to say, so he said whatever came into mind. Jack thought about how screwed up his mind is, and to him, most things that he experiences and often doesn’t care about, to the rest of society is a worrisome issue. He can’t help it now, it’s who he is and has become, and Jack can’t correlate to her emotions. The young man wanted to give Anna a bit of alone time to not escalate anything else that might trigger an emotional reaction out of her.

“Alright, Anna… I'll go shower first then.” As he was about to take a step, she grabbed his arm to prevent him from leaving. “What’s wrong, Anna?”

Anna clenched his arm, “I had no clue… how much you’ve suffered. Your body is so broken and scarred, you didn’t deserve them… you don’t deserve to have such reminders!” Tears fell off her eyes, and poor Anna whimpered.

Jack turns to his best friend and places his hand on Anna’s shoulder. “I’m fine, shit happens, you know?”

Anna grabs his hands and looks at each scar located all over his arms. “What do you mean shit happens?! Look at them!” Her eyes watering, her lips trembling, Anna felt heartbroken seeing this much damage on her dear friend.

Jack moans, “Anna…” The young man gripped her chin and wiped her eyes, “Really, it’s not an issue, I’m fine.”

“Turn around!” shouted Anna.

“Alright alright…” Jack turned around, exposing the horrific new scars on his back too.

Anna grits her teeth and narrowed her eyes. “What’s the story behind that?!” she said pointing at his back.

Jack seemed confused, he walked up to her mirror, turned around and saw them too. Then he remembered the yellow truck and the hillbillies who gave him these new tattoos that ended his life.

“Oh shit, I forgot about those rednecks dragging me on the ground with their truck.”

Anna couldn’t take it anymore and covered her face, crying deeply. Jack was beginning to worry for himself too, more importantly, the last remnants of his sanity.

Why am I so nulled to my own pain and damage… I know I’ve gone through a lot, but that doesn’t excuse the fact to act this way. Am I really this sick in the head? Jack thought.

Jack brushed one of his hands on his back, “Mallory…”

Anna cried softly and looked at Jack who was still staring at himself in the mirror. “Jack, h-how could you say-say such horrible tragedies to yourself so calmly?”

Jack turns back around to his dear friend and smacks his lips.

The young man walks up to Anna and looks into her watery bloodshot eyes, “Because that was everyday life, Anna.”